Posts written in November 2016

The takeover of Harman has placed Samsung among the leading players in the connected car industry; the Korean technology company has access to a raft of deals with major car manufacturers, expertise from a range of companies acquired by Harman and a huge $24bn order backlog. Infotainment, acoustics, display and other systems are all due to expand in value in the coming years, and Harman has systems already installed in over 30 million cars worldwide. Taking over the company presents Samsung with a highly valuable market position. CarPlay (the system… Read more

Global healthcare expenditure is set to grow from just over $7.2 trillion in 2015 to around $9.17 trillion by 2020, registering a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5%, according to research firm MarketLine. The company’s report states that growth will primarily be driven by the US, which dominates the global market and accounts for nearly 50% of total expenditure. The country also has a good forecast CAGR of 4.6%, exceeding that of Europe and Asia-Pacific, indicating that its share of the healthcare market will rise by 2020. Kate Moody,… Read more

2016 has been a rollercoaster of a year with regards to political incidences. With the UK voting in favor of leaving the EU in June 2016 and then a follow up of the US voting for President-elect Donald Trump in November of the same year, this has led to a degree of uncertainty in the scientific field. With funding at the forefront of scientific research and the advancement of scientific breakthroughs, the future has been thrown into turmoil as the individuals working in both countries, the US and the UK,… Read more

Advertising has been an increasingly important aspect in modern day business with companies spending millions on advertising campaigns. Every now and then, an advertising campaign can capture the imagination of the people watching which helps to increase the profile of a brand substantially. In the UK, one such example is that of the John Lewis Christmas advertisement. From 2007 onwards, John Lewis has evolved its Christmas adverts into something of a Christmas tradition. Every year, people anticipate the release of the new advert speculating on what it may contain with… Read more

Donald Trump’s policy detail is rather thin, but based on multiple and contradictory things he has said on the campaign trail, shrinking of the state via both reduced tax income and federal spending while promising to build a border wall and renovate infrastructure, protectionist stances on international trade agreements while promising a Brexit Britain a comprehensive deal, an expansion of dirty industries at the expense of environmental regulation, and undermined central bank independence. Donald Trump’s election to the Oval Office was considered one of the most divisive and bitter elections… Read more

Donald Trump’s whole mantra during his campaign (as evidenced by his rather natty headwear) has been to ‘Make America Great Again.’ In order to do this, he knows he must make the US competitive on the global stage. He has pledged to reduce taxes heavily for low and middle income Americans and also to make sure that the wealthy (including corporations) do not pay too much as that undermines jobs. This should help boost the currently questionable level of job creation and to increase spending power, which should in turn… Read more

The creation of the euro area was a mistake. Top ranks of business and political classes in Europe were expecting an explosion in trade and economic activity following the creation of the single currency area in 2002. The euro would lubricate the integration of the newly formed euro area. It would be possible to achieve higher levels of growth and long-term prosperity. Unfortunately, the real GDP of the euro area increased only by 1.8% per year between 2001 and 2006 and by merely 0.2% per year within the 2007 -2015… Read more

When the COMAC C919 launched, comparisons were immediately made with the failed Bombardier effort to break the Boeing/Airbus duopoly. Bombardier failed for several reasons, chiefly because it was unable to gain the required customer base needed to gain traction in the airline industry. This does not apply to COMAC: the company has a ready-made market of state controlled airlines, colossal state backing and provides fantastic opportunities for foreign companies. These factors will aid the company to make serious inroads into the Chinese domestic airline market, providing the impetus for future… Read more

On Thursday June 23, 2016 the UK went to the polls to decide on its future as a member of the European Union (EU). By a small margin, the country opted to leave and despite the fact that no steps to enact Article 50 have yet been taken by Theresa May and her government, speculation about an imminent implosion of the British economy has been rife, damaging the value of the Pound and serving as a rather convenient scapegoat for everything from companies’ poor performance to increased prices, to political… Read more

A focus on China and on increasing store openings in the country has been part of the Starbucks strategy since the company felt the negative impact of recession. Prior to 2008, Starbucks had been growing rapidly in terms of store openings, revenues, and operating profit. However, this all changed as the recession hit and the company struggled to cope. As many countries around the globe fell into recession, the impact on Starbucks was strongly felt. This led to a shift in resources to growth in international markets. It was felt… Read more